Health authorities are currently investigating several cases in the world of monkeypox, including those in the U.K. and Germany. Past criticisms may have eroded public trust in the country's leading infectious disease expert.

One expert says that while the U.S. has confirmed only one case of monkeypox in the current outbreak, Dr. Anthony Fauci's previous criticisms may have made it more difficult for him lead some segments of the public through a bigger monkeypox epidemic.

Fauci, who was the chief medical advisor to the president and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseasess (NIAID), rose to fame in 2020 with the onset of the COVID-19 epidemic. However, conservative media attacks and other factors including criticisms of vaccination requirements and masking, led to a gradual decline in American confidence in Fauci.

Research from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), for instance, found that 53 percent of adults trust COVID-19 information from Fauci as of April 2012. This number is lower among Republicans. The percentage of Republicans who trusted Fauci to provide accurate COVID-19 vaccine information between December 2020 and April 2022 fell from 47 to 25 percent.

Mollyann Brodie, the executive vice president and chief operating officer at the KFF, is Mollyann Brodie. Newsweek reported that Fauci was "very trusting" at the beginning of the 2020 pandemic. She said that he maintained high levels of trust among Democrats but that it declined among Republicans as the pandemic became more polarized.

Brodie stated that Brodie believes it is a reflection of the polarized nature of the pandemic over the past years.